World News - U.S. moves to freeze assets of Islamic group Islamic Resistance Support Organization allegedly funds Hezbollah militia

The Bush administration moved Tuesday to isolate a Lebanese organization financially for allegedly funneling money to bankroll terrorism by Hezbollah. The Treasury Department's action, which covers the Islamic Resistance Support Organization, or IRSO, means any assets belonging to the group found in the United States must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from contributing to the organization. Hezbollah uses the organization to solicit donations to support terror, the department alleged. Treasury said the group solicits money for the Lebanese Shiite militia and political party through advertisements aired on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station, which was put on the government's asset-blocking list this year. "Solicitation materials distributed by IRSO inform prospective donors that funds will be used to purchase sophisticated weapons and conduct operations," Treasury said.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday his government is united with Syria in strong opposition to the U.S. government's "imperialistic" aggression in the Middle East. "We are here in Damascus to call for peace," Chavez told Venezuela's state television by phone shortly after arriving in Syria late Tuesday. "These two countries are strongly united against the imperialistic aggression and hegemonic pretensions of the U.S. empire." Syrian President Bashar Assad greeted Chavez at the airport and thanked him for his support for Middle Eastern nations. "We appreciate your sincere feelings toward the peoples who have their rights and are under occupation, as well as your sincere humanitarian and moral sentiments," Assad was quoted as saying through an interpreter. Chavez has built close ties with Iran, Syria and other countries of the Mideast while his relations have grown tense with the U.S. and Israel. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2372686

Transfusions of blood products might help to cut deaths in a future flu pandemic, research suggests. US researchers examined records from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 which killed up to 100m worldwide. They found transfusions taken from people who had recovered may have improved the condition of others hospitalised by the virus. The study, a joint project by various groups including the US Navy, will appear in Annals of Internal Medicine. Experts fear that the H5N1 strain of bird flu responsible for the deaths of 140 people in Asia since 2003 could mutate to gain the ability to pass easily from human to human. If this happens, they fear the lives of millions of people worldwide could be under threat. The latest research suggests that blood transfusions might be an effective addition to the treatment arsenal, alongside vaccines and anti-viral drugs. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5294378.stm

A century after they were wiped out by hunters and a burgeoning population, wolves have returned to parts of eastern Germany as factories close down, businesses fail and people move out. A few dozen wolves have formed a beachhead in Germany's Brandenburg state just west of the border with Poland and enjoy special protection from authorities delighted by the return of the shy animals so deeply entrenched in German folklore. It's a surprising comeback in one of the world's leading industrial nations where 82 million people are squeezed into a country the size of the U.S. state of Montana. The wolves, who arrived from Poland or other neighboring countries, live in a largely vacant area of abandoned strip mines and vacated troop training grounds southeast of Berlin. They serve as a living testament to the profound changes taking place in eastern Germany, once a center of industry and mining, now fallen on hard times. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2372698

Gov. Mike Rounds halted South Dakota's first execution in 59 years just hours before it was scheduled Tuesday, saying the state law detailing how to administer lethal drugs is obsolete.Elijah Page, 24, had asked to be put to death by lethal injection for the 2000 torture murder of a Spearfish man. It had been scheduled for 10 p.m. Rounds and Attorney General Larry Long said that a 1984 law requires the state to use two drugs to kill a condemned person -- but state prison officials planned to use the standard three-drug combination, putting them at legal risk. "I will not have the individuals responsible for carrying out this execution to be placed in a position to where they would be or could be in violation of a state statute in the carrying out of an execution," Rounds said. "We could have had people wondering for the rest of their lives if they did the right thing."...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14576929/

Last week, a federal appeals court in Washington handed down an important decision relating to the definition of income for tax purposes. What is important about the decision is that it is the first one in decades saying that the Constitution itself limits what the government may tax. If upheld by the Supreme Court, it could significantly alter tax policy and possibly open the door to radical reform. In the case, a woman named Marrita Murphy was awarded a legal settlement that included compensation for physical injury and emotional distress. The former has always been tax-exempt, just as insurance settlements are. Obviously, it makes no sense to tax as income the payment for a loss that only makes one whole again. One is not being made better off, and therefore there is no income. But under current law, compensation for non-physical injuries are taxed...http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/BruceBartlett/2006/08/29/court_ruling_shakes_ground_under_irs